THE European Union and CARIFORUM countries engaged in a detailed exchange on the critical issue of EU development assistance which the CARIFORUM side raised in light of the EU’s published communication on the subject, in which the EU has indicated its intention to reassess its approach to implementation of its development support to developing countries, including, where necessary, to differentiate and graduate current ACP beneficiaries, some of whom may be in the CARIFORUM group.   Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett called on the European Union to seriously reconsider their position on “differentiation” which may see countries in CARIFORUM losing much needed development assistance because of their classification as middle-income countries which is determined by GDP per capita.  
The minister pointed out that GDP per capita alone cannot be a basis for determining differentiation, and submitted that the EU should consider the fact that many of these countries experience frequent natural disasters, such as hurricanes, which result in a perpetual state of reconstruction.  This situation will get worse as climate change has resulted in more intense and frequent disasters.  The high indebtedness and the impacts of the global economic crisis must also be included in the equation. Rodrigues -Birkett also submitted that for some countries, there is little scope for diversification.

Stressing that the vulnerabilities are real, Minister Rodrigues- Birkett informed the EU of the work which the Region has recently engaged the ECLAC to undertake in codifying a vulnerability index for the Region, with the aim of establishing a scientific and objective approach to the issue.

The EU welcomed the presentations by CARIFORUM on this matter, and suggested that the bilateral framework be utilized to continue the dialogue in view of the impending EU assessment.  

CARIFORUM ministers met their counterparts from the European Union and the EU Commissioner for Trade yesterday in Brussels, to take stock of implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), signed between the two sides in October, 2008. The meeting was convened as the Second Meeting of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council under the EPA and discussed the challenges that have arisen so far and provided political guidance to ensure that implementation of the Agreement remained on track.

The CARIFORUM delegation comprised 12 member states, of which nine were represented at ministerial level and others at ambassadorial level.  

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that the implementation of the agreement, the first and only comprehensive EPA in the entire ACP Group to date, achieves its developmental goals. The CARIFORUM side reiterated the partnership spirit and intent of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA and the wider framework ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

The meeting resolved some outstanding procedural issues relating to implementation.  It took decisive steps to operationalise the joint institutions of the EPA, in particular the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee, which will  comprise civil society representatives, including academia, labour and the private sector. Representatives from the CARIFORUM side are drawn from a wide cross-section of Regional civil society groups and organisations.  The Consultative Committee is aimed at harnessing the voice of civil society in the EPA implementation and the bilateral relations between the two sides. The Joint Council also approved the List of Arbitrators as required under the Agreement’s Dispute Settlement provisions.  

The meeting also discussed the ongoing implementation of the agreed tariff liberalisation by CARIFORUM.  Guyana and seven other member states have commenced implementation of their scheduled tariff reductions which will be phased over 25 years, until the end of 2032.  The other states are expected to commence their scheduled reductions from January 2013.

CARIFORUM had previously identified some errors, involving the incorrect transpositions of specific applied tariff rates for some products, and the moratorium agreed on motor vehicles and parts, in the EPA tariff schedule, and sought the Joint Council’s intervention to correcting same.  Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, like her colleagues, disagreed with the EU’s position that there was no error and pointed out that as was the case in Jamaica, she had informed the Parliament of Guyana of the moratorium as this was the negotiated position. She called on the EU to recognise the error and work with CARIFORUM in the spirit of partnership as the agreement had intended.

The meeting also discussed the establishment of a joint monitoring system to continuously monitor the operation of the agreement in order to assess its impact on CARIFORUM states.  The joint system is intended to also buttress the periodic reviews provided for in the agreement, including the first five-yearly review which is due in 2013.  Guyana had insisted on the incorporation of such a review prior to the signature of the agreement in 2008.

The Joint Council meets annually at ministerial level and is supported by the Trade and Development Committee which meets annually at the level of senior trade officials.